We Bought a 1970’s Fixer Upper!

The Rockin’ Tri-Level

Holy Moly, we just bought our first house!! In Illinois…(that part is disappointing), but nevertheless, we bought a house that we are going to breathe new life into!

As many of you know, my husband Aaron took a new job in April of 2020 that is located in The Loop of downtown Chicago. This job opportunity was a no-brainer that we couldn’t pass up, so even though we were saddened that we would be leaving Wisconsin (where we pride ourselves in living), we knew jumping down to our southern neighbors wasn’t too big of a deal for this season of our lives.

Due to Covid-19, we didn’t have to move down to Chicago immediately since his office was closed (and still is). But with the unknowns of when the virus would clear up, we knew we had an impending move upon us that we needed to be prepared for. Right off the bat, there was a lot for us to learn about Chicago and the surrounding neighborhoods. This was an entirely new territory for us that was extremely unfamiliar. Given what we had heard and what Aaron thought he wanted for a commute we initially looked at neighborhoods like Lincoln Park, Logan Square, and Bucktown where we could get into a multi-family townhome since we felt strongly about not living in a highrise downtown (that’s just not us).

As time went on and we still weren’t sure when the move would happen, Aaron started to do more research and connected with more colleagues about surrounding Chicago areas. After having a conversation with one of his coworkers, he realized there was a possibility we could live in the North-West suburbs that had the Metra line and prominent train lines running through them that could get you downtown in under an hour. The reason this was such an impactful realization was that prior to the new job, our tentative plan for our future was to buy a house at the end of 2020 in West Allis, WI. So with the new job that threw a wrench into our game plan and pushed back us owning a house and building some equity in something. We thought we for sure would have to rent for a few more years which bummed us out and overall set us back. Not only did the idea of renting bother us, but I was also feeling anxious about how living in the neighborhoods would change our lifestyle. Currently, I love to have time outdoors and spaces where I can use power tools and paint furniture. This was something that I was essentially building my business with and these rentals did not offer outdoor space for this to happen with.

Thus began our search for houses that needed fixing in the North-West suburbs of Chicago. We ended up touring over a dozen different houses and even put an offer in on one that I fell in love with (mid-century architecture, beautiful backyard and sunroom, lots of space, and high-income neighborhood). Unfortunately, our offer was not accepted, but we didn't let it discourage us. We looked at it as a sign that this wasn’t the right house for some reason and a better option would be out there. Let me tell you, the universe did not disappoint. Two days after submitting that offer and not getting accepted our “Rockin’ Tri-Level” presented itself on the market. We immediately saw the potential and felt like it checked countless boxes we wanted. So we messaged our realtor and asked if we could see it ASAP. Low and behold, we got in the next day to see it, which happened to be one of the largest snowstorms southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois received this winter. We didn’t let the snow stop us, we got to the house and knew within minutes that it was the one! We actually put the offer in on the house while standing in the kitchen of it haha!

The potential was practically screaming at us as we walked through. For starters, the house is at the very end of a cul de sac which is appealing when you’re looking for a quiet street, there was an attached two-car garage (which is something that people in the city of Chicago don’t care about but when you’re coming from Wisco with two vehicles it’s huge), an adorable private back yard that faces a school so you don’t have to worry about noisy neighbors and THE PLACE IS HUGE! This house is a 4 bedroom, 3 full baths roughly 2,500 sq/ft house that included a massive kitchen, two living spaces, a wood-burning fireplace, and around 600 sq/ft of unfinished basement.

This is the upstairs living space and also the space that you walk into from the front door. The stairs on the right lead you upstairs to the bedrooms and the arched entrance leads you to the kitchen.

One bedroom is on the lower level with the rec room and the other three are upstairs.

Now, you might be asking yourself…” Why do Aaron and Marissa need all that space when they live alone with no kids?” No, we don’t need all of this space, but we do know that a young family would LOVE this house and that’s who we want to appeal to when reselling.

This is the downstairs living space. It has a wood burning fireplace, dining area, and wet bar around the corner (pictured above).

Buying this house was not for Aaron and me, and what I mean by that is we bought this as an investment. We wanted to find a house that had the potential to update and add value, making it easier to resell after we rehab it. This house has the potential and we will aim to make a profit on when we resell it in 2-3 years.

Left: Downstairs Bathroom | Middle: On-Suite Master Bathroom | Right: Upstairs Hallway Bathroom

Now the fun (and hard) part begins! We will start ripping out the remaining carpet, removing old pillars, tearing out the entire kitchen, and refacing the fireplace. After that, we will focus on renovating the bathrooms and other living spaces of the home. And don’t you worry, the outside of the house will be receiving some TLC during the second summer we own it (not this year). That two-toned brick and LOVELY ROCK WALL feature will be saying goodbye, and we will give the outside some much-needed updates.

If you want to see my future design plans I encourage you to subscribe to my email list (join the list) where I’ll be exclusively revealing my design plans for each room of the house. There will be blog posts to come with details on specific rooms, house projects, and renovations insight as we begin tackling things. If you want to follow along (real-time) with the rehabbing process I will be active on the Untapped Potential Instagram page.

I am over the moon that I have this opportunity to showcase my design skills, try new techniques, challenge myself with new skills and knowledge, and watch a space come to life that we can live in. This is going to be a blast and I’m overjoyed with excitement!

Let me know in the comments what spaces of the house you’re most excited to see transformed!